Manual means for propelling lifeboats



Jan. 12, 1943. J. A. PAUL 2,308,101

MANUAL MEANS FOR PROPELLING LIFEBOATS Filed May :51, 1941 "IIIIIIIIIII/III/fiI/IIIIII YIIIIIIJIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

I INVENT OR. JOHN A. PA UL HTTOBNE Y5' Patented Jan. 12, 1943 IVIANUAL MEANS FOR PROPELLING LIFEBOATS John A. Paul, Berkeley, 'Calif.

Application May 31, 194.1, Serial No. 396,079

4 Claims.

An object of my invention is to provide a manual means for propelling a lifeboat which is designed to be actuated by one or more persons. The device is preferably placed in the rear of the lifeboat and operates a propeller that extends from the stern of the boat. The propeller actuating means comprises a handle which has lateral extensions pivotally secured to arms that in turn are swingably mounted on ratchet-supporting shafts. The handle extensions carry pawls which project in opposite directions and ride over the ratchets. A gear mechanism connects the ratchets with the propeller so that a reciprocation of the handle will cause th propeller to rotate in one direction at a suflicient speed to propel the boat through the water at about seven knots. The initial movement of the handle in either direction about its pivotal connection with the arms will cause one of the pawls to move into engament with its ratchet whereupon further movement of the handle in the same direction will rotate the ratchet and rotate the propeller at a higher speed than the ratchet.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described which is simple in construction and durable and efiicient for the purpose intended.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In carrying out my invention, I make use of a lifeboat indicated generally at A. The device is preferably mounted in the rear of the lifeboat and comprises a frame B that may be of any desired shape and construction and secured to the lifeboat in any desired manner. The frame consists of a base I with two pairs of uprights 2 and 3 extending thereabove. Two stub-shafts 4 and 5 are rotatably carried by the pairs of uprights 2 and 3 respectively, and in turn have pinions 6 and I secured thereto. The pinions are disposed between the pairs of uprights and Figure 2 clearly shows the inner ends of the stubshafts 4 and 5 as carrying bevel gears 8 and 9. The bevel gears mesh with another bevel gear III that is mounted on a propeller shaft I I. Figure 1 shows the shaft as extending through a packing gland l2 and then through an opening I3 in the boat hull. The free end of the shaft I I carries a propeller I4. I

I provide novel means for alternately rotating the bevel gears 8 and 9, and for rotating the gear 8 in one direction and the gear 9 in the opposite direction. This will cause the gears to impart an intermittent and rotative movement to the propeller shaft in one direction. The particular means for accomplishing this comprises two ratchet supporting shafts I5 and Iii which are rotatably mounted in the pairs of uprights 2 and 3 respectively. Two ratchets I7 and I8 are mounted onthe ratchet shafts I5 and It and are disposed between the pairs of uprights. Pairs of radius arms I9 and 20 are rotatably mounted on the ratchet shafts I5 and I6, an arm being disposed on each side of each ratchet I1 and I8. The arms extend a slight distance beyond the peripheries of the ratchets and pivotally carry a pawl supporting member indicated generally at C.

The pawl carrying member C has a handle 2I supported by and rigidly secured to lateral extensions 22 and 23. These extensions are pivotally secured at 24 and 25 to the free ends of the pairs of arms I9 and 20. The extensions also have pawls 26 and 21 rigidly secured thereto and removable therefrom. The pawl 26 extends to the left in Figure 1 and rides over the ratchet ll, while the pawl 21 extends to the right in Figure 1 and rides over the ratchet I8. When the pawl supporting member 0 is in a position where the extensions 22 and 23 will lie in the same radii as the radius arms I9 and 20, both pawls will have their teeth 25a and 27a riding clear of the ratchet teeth Ila and IBa. When new the pawl supporting member C is swung in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow a in Figure 3, pawl 2'! will be moved into engagement with the ratchet teeth Ito. and a further swinging of the handle 2i in a clockwise direction will rotate the ratchet H3 in the direction of the arrow 12. During this movement, the pawl 2 6 is held out of engagement with its ratchet II.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

The device is designed so that the handle 2I may be reciprocated by one or more persons. In the standard lifeboat the seats A are so arranged that three people can sit on opposite sides of the ratchet l ii will be rotated in a clockwise direction and will rotate its pinion 1 in a counter-- clockwise direction. The pinion will rotate the bevel gear 9 in the same direction and thiswill cause the propeller M to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 2.

When the movement of the handle 2| is reversed, the pawl 21 will be freed from its ratchet and the pawl 26 will cause the ratchet I! to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction when looking at Figure 3. The ratchet will rotate its pinion '6 in a clockwise direction which will cause the bevel gear 8 to rotate the propeller shaft II in the same direction as indicated by the arrow 0. In this way, a reciprocation of the handle 2| will intermittently rotate the propeller M in the same direction. One of the novel features of the invention is the gripping effect of the pawls on the ratchets. The initial swinging of the handle 2| will first cause one of the pawls to engage with its ratchet, and the greater the force exerted on the handle, the greater will be the gripping action between the pawl and the ratchet.

It is possible to propel the lifeboat at a fairly good speed through the water with the device. I do not wish to be confined to any eX-act sizes of parts, but give the following only by way of example: it is possible to reciprocate the handle 2| about twenty-two time per minute. The circumference of each ratchet is eight times that of its pinion and the ratio of each bevel gear 8 and 9 to the bevel gear 10 is 2:1. The result is that for each revolution of the ratchet I! or E8, the propeller will be rotated sixteen revolutions. At a rate of twenty-two strokes or reciprocations of the handle per minute, the propeller will be'rotated one hundred and twenty revolutions per minute. This will give a speed of approximately seven knots when a propeller twelve inches in diameter and having a five foot pitch is used. When thehandle is held in such a position as to free both pawls from their ratchets, the boat can move through the water and the propeller will be free to rotate in the water without swinging the handle. A braking action can be applied to the boat to retard its movement by merely bringing one of the pawls into engagement with its ratchet and then holding the handle against movement. This will prevent the propeller from rotating and will apply the required braking force.

I claim:

, 1. In a manual means for propelling a lifeboat, a pair of large ratchets, stub-shafts independently supporting the ratchets and being aligned with each other, radius arms swingable about the stub-shafts, a pawl-supporting member pivoted to the free ends of the arms, a. pair of pawls rigidly secured to the member and ridable on the ratchets, one pawl facing in one direction and rotating its ratchet when the member is moved in one direction and the other pawl facing in the opposite direction and rotating its ratchet when the member is moved in the oppositedirection, the initial movement of the member in either direction causing it to swing the desired pawl positively into engagement with the ratchet whereupon further movement will rotate the ratchet, and a propeller operatively connected to the ratchets and being intermittently rotated in one direction when the member is reciprocated.

2. In a manual means for propelling a lifeboat, a pair of aligned stub-shafts, a large ratchet mounted on each stub-shaft, radius arms pivotally supported by the stub-shafts, a pawl-supporting member pivotally secured to the free ends of the arms, a pair of pawls rigidly secured to the member, one pawl extending in one direction and overriding one ratchet and the other pawl extending in the opposite direction and overriding the other ratchet, and. a handle supported by the member and when moved in one direction initially pivoting the member and causing one pawl positively to engage With its ratchet for rotating it in one direction, said handle when moved in the opposite direction initially pivoting the member in the reverse direction and causing the other pawl to engage positively with its ratchet for rotating it in the opposite direction to the first ratchet.

3. In a manual means for propelling a lifeboat, a pair of aligned stub-shafts, a large ratchet mounted on each stub-shaft, at least one radius arm pivotally supported by each stub-shaft, a pawl-supporting member for each ratchet and pivotally secured to the free ends of the arms, a pawl rigidly secured to each member, one pawl extending in one direction and engageable with one ratchet and the other pawl extending in the opposite direction and engageable with the other ratchet, a bar rigidly interconnecting the pawl supporting members so that they will pivot on the arms as a unit, and a handle supported by the members and cooperating with a bar to increase the rigid connection between the members, whereby the handle will swing in a proper manner regardless of where the force is applied, said handle when moved in one direction initially pivoting the members for causing one pawl to engage positively with its ratchet for rotating it in one direction while the handle continues its movement in the same direction, said handle when moved in the opposite direction initially pivoting the members in the reverse direction for causing the other pawl to engage positively with its ratchet for rotating it in the opposite direction so long as the handle continues its movement.

4. In a driving mechanism, a pair of ratchets rotatable about aligned axes in opposite directions, at least one radius arm for each ratchet and rotatable about the ratchet axis, a pawl supporting member for each ratchet and pivoted to the radius arm, a pawl rigidly secured to each member, one pawl facing in one direction and engageable with one ratchet, the other pawl facing in the other direction and engageable with the other ratchet, a bar rigidly connecting the members so that they will swing as a unit, and a handle rigidly connecting the members and being spaced from the bar, whereby a movement of the handle in one direction will initially cause the pawl facing in the direction of movement to engage its ratchet and rotate it so long as the handle continues to move in the same direction, and a movement of the handle in the opposite direction will initially cause the other pawl to engage its ratchet and rotate it so long as the handle continues to move in the same direction.

JOHN A. PAUL. 

